Affirm is building a 'modern answer' to AmEx, CEO explains

Affirm (AFRM) CEO Max Levchin met with Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference to discuss the fintech business's evolution and where it could be headed next.

Levchin highlights the company’s strength, nodding to its recent quarterly earnings. He said the company is “moving from startup mode to growth mode” to its next phase as a financial services company. Affirm CFO Michael Linford described the payment service to be "firing on all cylinders" in an interview with Yahoo Finance in August.

“We think of ourselves as a forever company,” the CEO says, adding that “for a long time as a startup, you say that, but you mean let's survive another week." Now, Levchin's outlook on Affirms has extended by decades.

Levchin notes the initial framing of the company as a buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform was a mistake: “One thing that I wish I could rewind the clock on is not to use those four dreaded letters.”

“We're much more than BNPL,” the CEO tells Sozzi, saying the company is “payments first and foremost” as a financial services business with a “deep relationship with consumers.”

Looking forward, Levchin says Affirm aspires to “build a modern answer” to American Express, (AXP) a company the CEO admittedly admires greatly. “It's a wonderful brand” and “a great service,” but it is “a club and a club with a velvet rope, and you've got to be good enough to be on the right side of the rope.”

“I wanted to build a payment system, a payment network, reach merchants, serve consumers, offer access to credit. But for everyone, for anyone who wants to be a part of something that stands for no late fees, no deferred interest, real transparency, [and with a] real pro-consumer attitude," Levchin explains.

“Now, the next few steps are just [getting] bigger,” with more services, consumers, and merchants, Levchin tells Yahoo Finance.

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This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.